The Battery

The Immigrants

History

Sculptor Luis Sanguino (b. 1934) celebrates the diversity of New York City and the struggle of immigrants in this heroic-sized bronze figural group. The sculpture depicts figures of various ethnic groups and eras, including an Eastern European Jew, a freed African slave, a priest, and a worker. The figures’ expressive poses emphasize the struggle and toil inherent in the experience of the immigrant or dislocated person.

The sculpture is located at the south end of the Eisenhower Mall in Battery Park near Castle Clinton, which served as a processing facility for newly arrived immigrants from 1855 to 1890, when construction began on a larger, more remote facility at nearby Ellis Island. The piece was donated by Samuel Rudin (1896–1975), who commissioned the sculpture in the early 1970s, intending it to be installed near Castle Clinton as a memorial to his parents, who, as it is noted on the plinth, emigrated to the United States in the late-19th century. Although Rudin died in 1975, Rudin’s family took up the campaign to install the sculpture at the park, and it eventually was dedicated on May 4, 1983.

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The Immigrants Details

Location: South of Castle Clinton

Sculptor: Luis Sanguino

Architect: Frank Luzi, P.E./P.C.

Description: Group (heroic scale) on base

Materials: Bronze, Minnesota Rideau Red granite

Dimensions: Group H: 10' W: 5' D: 14'2½"; Base H: 1'1" W: 8' D: 17'7"

Cast: 1973

Dedicated: May 4, 1983; Rededicated August 1, 2005

Foundry: Modern Art Foundry

Fabricator: A. Ottavino Corp. (base)

Donor: Samuel and May Rudin; Rudin Management Company

Inscription: 1) "DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS / WHO ENTERED AMERICA THROUGH CASTLE GARDEN / IN MEMORY OF SAMUEL RUDIN / 1896-1975 / WHOSE PARENTS ARRIVED IN AMERICA IN 1883"

2) "SANGUINO"

Please note, the NAME field includes a primary designation as well as alternate namings often in common or popular usage. The DEDICATED field refers to the most recent dedication, most often, but not necessarily the original dedication date. If the monument did not have a formal dedication, the year listed reflects the date of installation.